Tuesday, August 02, 2005

The Struggle Against the Ideological Extremists...What About Ann Coulter?

The other day, the President announced a "new and improved" War on Terror. In fact, its so new, and so much better than the former War on Terror, that he gave it a new name. Its now called the Global Struggle Against Ideological Extremists (See video here in .mov format).

So now that we are engaged in a struggle against, not simply terrorists, but more broadly, "ideological extremists" perhaps its time our 'wonderful president' mapped a course of action against one of our domestic ideological extremists, namely Ann Coulter.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language defines an extremist as "One who advocates or resorts to measures beyond the norm, especially in politics."

Now, lets take a look at some of Ann Coulter's political takes and examine whether she could be considered an extremist or not.

In light of the fact that our Constitution outlaws "cruel and unusual punishment" perhaps Ms. Coulter takes a rather extreme approach to crime and punishment:

"I have to say I'm all for public flogging. One type of criminal that a public humiliation might work particularly well with are the juvenile delinquents, a lot of whom consider it a badge of honor to be sent to juvenile detention. And it might not be such a cool thing in the 'hood to be flogged publicly." MSNBC, March 22, 1997

Or how about the time Ms. Coulter advocated fascism?

"My libertarian friends are probably getting a little upset now but I think that's because they never appreciate the benefits of local fascism." MSNBC, February 8, 1997.

Or how about the fact that Ms. Coulter has repeatedly voiced her opposition to women voters? That sure seems to smack in the face of our normative 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (Women's Suffrage), now doesn't it?

"I think [women] should be armed but should not vote ..." Politically Incorrect, February, 2001. "It would be a much better country if women did not vote. That is simply a fact.The Guardian, May 17 2003.

A tad extreme? Sure seems like it.

But what about this?

"My only regret with Timothy McVeigh (the Oklahoma Federal Building bomber) is he did not go to the New York Times building." New York Observer, interview August 26, 2002.

Wow, that certainly sounds extreme, doesn't it?

But I haven't even mentioned the time when she said:

"Liberals hate America, they hate flag-wavers, they hate abortion opponents, they hate all religions except Islam, post 9/11. Even Islamic terrorists don't hate America like liberals do. They don't have the energy. If they had that much energy, they'd have indoor plumbing by now." Appropriately, that quote came from he book entitled Slander, pp. 5-6.

I don't know, perhaps its me, but this final quote, referring to Muslims, certainly sounds extreme:

"We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That's war. And this is war." From her syndicated column, September 13, 2001.

OK, in this quote she just advocated an all-out Holy War against Islam, and a crusade for Christianity. More than that, she is completely cavalier and uncaring to the suffering of innocent civilians.

Its certainly reasonable to call Ann Coulter an extremist. So now that we are fighting struggling against ideological extremists, perhaps the President, who prizes himself on being a man of his word, will find a way to fight struggle against Ms. Coulter.

Now, I'm not suggesting that Ann be harmed or outlawed for her extreme right-wingery, but if we were truly concerned with diminishing ideological extremists, perhaps it would be the right thing for the President to publicly criticize somebody like Ann Coulter. Imagine that.

What's with the comments about Coulter being right? She's a hater, haters are never right.

Mann Coulter, ROFLMAO.. Yeah, really, there's not much woman in that head, is there. I think the drag Queen theory would be right, if only all the drag Queens I've ever met hadn't been such thoroughly nice open people I'd agree with that one.. lol

injinuity == she is correct? About what? Be specific, you dummy. It is SO boring to hear uneducated no-brain children whine "She's right! Without even knowing why. Sigh -- I know, I know -- RUSH told you. Tell butt cyst boy to go to prison for 30 years for DRUGS.

I think anyone who compares Coulter to Jon Stewart is insulting Jon. She and Michael Savage should do us all a favor and go live in a tiny shack together in the middle of a wooded area hidden from all human life forms.

While I don't agree with the President and the administration on many things, I will have to agree with the re-definition of what's going on from "War on Terror" - which in the international realm is really an idiotic wording for something - to the new, much longer, not as snappy name. I wonder if Faux has upgraded their graphics yet.

Anyway, how liberals are called anti-American and people like Ann Coulter get nice big soap boxes to stand on, I'll never understand.

The difference that makes Ann an extremist and Jon not one is that Ann is dead serious about what she says (even with her wicked, uncomfortable smirk) and Jon is laughing carelessly about it (except when insulting bow-tie wearing dweebs).

Ann Coulter is not even the opposite of Michael Moore. I'm trying hard to pick someone on the left equal to her and I can only come up with Janine Garofolo maybe.

I'll bite. Hillary Clinton, all the way. I dont mind a woman who is true to herself. I do not believe people have to play to their societal stereotypes, especially not in the USA. Not all women must be feminine and nurturing. Not all males must be masculine and dominant.

I know this thought makes both you and Ms. Coulter quite nauseous, but when it comes down to it, this is really what you both have a problem with. You require well-defined gender roles. For some reason, you think the world will collapse if Mommy works or if Daddy shows a tender heart. And you probably fear women deep down too. My guess is that you feel the need to dominate them, preferably through societal institutions.

Stop resisting dude. Women are fan-freakingtastic and they come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities. They dont all have to do it like the way your dear old mom did it.

The people who propogate this mythology are holding on too tight to a time long past (thankfully). Some men are nurterers, some men are not. And the same for women.

As for comparing these two ladies. Ann is a mean old witch who seemingly hates eveybody, including herself. She masks her self-loathing behind a facade of arrogance. But she really has no clue what she is talking about. Granted, she is a smart women when it comes to marketing her hate and fear to an ever more consuming public. But, if my daughter turned out like her, then I failed as a parent because it would mean that my child had no heart whatsoever.

If my child turned out like Hillary, I wouldn't be bothered by it one bit.

I've been wary of epithets like "extremist" for a long time -- ever since I learned about Aristotle's doctrine of the golden mean in freshman philosophy in 1970. It occurred to me then that Richard Nixon had two choices: he could go to one extreme, and kill every Vietnamese; or go to another extreme, and not kill any. So he chose the middle way, and killed only some of them.

Some years later, in 1980, Ellen Willis wrote a satirical glossary of middle-of-the-road-speak. An example: "The male chauvinist bias is that women are inferior to men. The feminist bias is that women are equal to men. The unbiased view is that the truth lies somewhere in between." Still later, Alexander Cockburn wrote a hilarious satire of PBS's sense of ideological balance -- for example, should cannibalism be legalized, or should human flesh for human consumption be inspected for health risks to protect the consumer?

Best of all, of course, is this extremist here, who departed the mainstream definitively when (in 1968) he called the United States the greatest source of violence in the world at that time. If he were still alive, I doubt he'd have changed his mind. Why did Martin Luther King have to be such an extremist?:

You spoke of our activity in Birmingham as extreme. At first I was ratherdisappointed that fellow clergymen would see my nonviolent efforts as those ofthe extremist. I started thinking about the fact that I stand in the middle oftwo opposing forces in the Negro community. One is a force of complacency madeup of Negroes who, as a result of long years of oppression, have been socompletely drained of self-respect and a sense of "somebodiness" that they haveadjusted to segregation, and, of a few Negroes in the middle class who, becauseof a degree of academic and economic security, and because at points theyprofit by segregation, have unconsciously become insensitive to the problems ofthe masses. The other force is one of bitterness and hatred, and comesperilously close to advocating violence. It is expressed in the various blacknationalist groups that are springing up over the nation, the largest and bestknown being Elijah Muhammad's Muslim movement.... I have tried to standbetween these two forces, saying that we need not follow the "do-nothingism" ofthe complacent or the hatred and despair of the black nationalist. There isthe more excellent way of love and nonviolent protest....But as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a bit ofsatisfaction from being considered an extremist. Was not Jesus an extremist inlove -- "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them thatdespitefully use you." Was not Amos an extremist for justice ... Was not Paulan extremist for the gospel of Jesus Christ ... Was not Martin Luther anextremist .... Was not John Bunyan an extremist ... Was not Abraham Lincoln anextremist .... Was not Thomas Jefferson an extremist.... So the question isnot whether we will be extremist but what kind of extremist will we be. Willwe be extremists for hate or will be extremists for love? Will we beextremists for the preservation of injustice --or will we be extremists for thecause of justice? ...I had hoped that the white moderate would see this. Maybe I was too optimistic.--"Letter from Birmingham City Jail", in A Testament of Hope: the EssentialWritings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr., ed by James M. Washington,Harper SanFrancisco, 1986, 1991, pages 296-299

In a way I'm glad people like her exist. If we ever need someone to say, push the nuclear button (after permission to do so is given) I'd rather have her at the counter than me. I'd think about all the people I was killing before I'd push the button, I'd have second thoughts. But not her man, gun ho all the way! Nuke the bastards! Like, I might put myself on the line and oppose military line of command. But you'd never have to worry about her, eh?

I think it says a lot about the corporate media that they'd put someone like Coulter on the cover of Time. It's no surprise, of course -- look at the welcome that Rush Limbaugh got, or the way that people like Jerry Falwell were treated very seriously. Now try to imagine Noam Chomsky on the cover of Time.

On the Hillary Rodham Clinton thing, she's a moderate right-winger. I am afraid she might have a shot at the White House, but that would not be a good thing. But at least she's not an extremist, like Coulter!

What's with the comments about Coulter being right? She's a hater, haters are never right.

Mann Coulter, ROFLMAO.. Yeah, really, there's not much woman in that head, is there. I think the drag Queen theory would be right, if only all the drag Queens I've ever met hadn't been such thoroughly nice open people I'd agree with that one.. lol

injinuity == she is correct? About what? Be specific, you dummy. It is SO boring to hear uneducated no-brain children whine "She's right! Without even knowing why. Sigh -- I know, I know -- RUSH told you. Tell butt cyst boy to go to prison for 30 years for DRUGS.

I think anyone who compares Coulter to Jon Stewart is insulting Jon. She and Michael Savage should do us all a favor and go live in a tiny shack together in the middle of a wooded area hidden from all human life forms.

While I don't agree with the President and the administration on many things, I will have to agree with the re-definition of what's going on from "War on Terror" - which in the international realm is really an idiotic wording for something - to the new, much longer, not as snappy name. I wonder if Faux has upgraded their graphics yet.

Anyway, how liberals are called anti-American and people like Ann Coulter get nice big soap boxes to stand on, I'll never understand.

The difference that makes Ann an extremist and Jon not one is that Ann is dead serious about what she says (even with her wicked, uncomfortable smirk) and Jon is laughing carelessly about it (except when insulting bow-tie wearing dweebs).

Ann Coulter is not even the opposite of Michael Moore. I'm trying hard to pick someone on the left equal to her and I can only come up with Janine Garofolo maybe.

I'll bite. Hillary Clinton, all the way. I dont mind a woman who is true to herself. I do not believe people have to play to their societal stereotypes, especially not in the USA. Not all women must be feminine and nurturing. Not all males must be masculine and dominant.

I know this thought makes both you and Ms. Coulter quite nauseous, but when it comes down to it, this is really what you both have a problem with. You require well-defined gender roles. For some reason, you think the world will collapse if Mommy works or if Daddy shows a tender heart. And you probably fear women deep down too. My guess is that you feel the need to dominate them, preferably through societal institutions.

Stop resisting dude. Women are fan-freakingtastic and they come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities. They dont all have to do it like the way your dear old mom did it.

The people who propogate this mythology are holding on too tight to a time long past (thankfully). Some men are nurterers, some men are not. And the same for women.

As for comparing these two ladies. Ann is a mean old witch who seemingly hates eveybody, including herself. She masks her self-loathing behind a facade of arrogance. But she really has no clue what she is talking about. Granted, she is a smart women when it comes to marketing her hate and fear to an ever more consuming public. But, if my daughter turned out like her, then I failed as a parent because it would mean that my child had no heart whatsoever.

If my child turned out like Hillary, I wouldn't be bothered by it one bit.

I've been wary of epithets like "extremist" for a long time -- ever since I learned about Aristotle's doctrine of the golden mean in freshman philosophy in 1970. It occurred to me then that Richard Nixon had two choices: he could go to one extreme, and kill every Vietnamese; or go to another extreme, and not kill any. So he chose the middle way, and killed only some of them.

Some years later, in 1980, Ellen Willis wrote a satirical glossary of middle-of-the-road-speak. An example: "The male chauvinist bias is that women are inferior to men. The feminist bias is that women are equal to men. The unbiased view is that the truth lies somewhere in between." Still later, Alexander Cockburn wrote a hilarious satire of PBS's sense of ideological balance -- for example, should cannibalism be legalized, or should human flesh for human consumption be inspected for health risks to protect the consumer?

Best of all, of course, is this extremist here, who departed the mainstream definitively when (in 1968) he called the United States the greatest source of violence in the world at that time. If he were still alive, I doubt he'd have changed his mind. Why did Martin Luther King have to be such an extremist?:

You spoke of our activity in Birmingham as extreme. At first I was ratherdisappointed that fellow clergymen would see my nonviolent efforts as those ofthe extremist. I started thinking about the fact that I stand in the middle oftwo opposing forces in the Negro community. One is a force of complacency madeup of Negroes who, as a result of long years of oppression, have been socompletely drained of self-respect and a sense of "somebodiness" that they haveadjusted to segregation, and, of a few Negroes in the middle class who, becauseof a degree of academic and economic security, and because at points theyprofit by segregation, have unconsciously become insensitive to the problems ofthe masses. The other force is one of bitterness and hatred, and comesperilously close to advocating violence. It is expressed in the various blacknationalist groups that are springing up over the nation, the largest and bestknown being Elijah Muhammad's Muslim movement.... I have tried to standbetween these two forces, saying that we need not follow the "do-nothingism" ofthe complacent or the hatred and despair of the black nationalist. There isthe more excellent way of love and nonviolent protest....But as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a bit ofsatisfaction from being considered an extremist. Was not Jesus an extremist inlove -- "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them thatdespitefully use you." Was not Amos an extremist for justice ... Was not Paulan extremist for the gospel of Jesus Christ ... Was not Martin Luther anextremist .... Was not John Bunyan an extremist ... Was not Abraham Lincoln anextremist .... Was not Thomas Jefferson an extremist.... So the question isnot whether we will be extremist but what kind of extremist will we be. Willwe be extremists for hate or will be extremists for love? Will we beextremists for the preservation of injustice --or will we be extremists for thecause of justice? ...I had hoped that the white moderate would see this. Maybe I was too optimistic.--"Letter from Birmingham City Jail", in A Testament of Hope: the EssentialWritings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr., ed by James M. Washington,Harper SanFrancisco, 1986, 1991, pages 296-299

In a way I'm glad people like her exist. If we ever need someone to say, push the nuclear button (after permission to do so is given) I'd rather have her at the counter than me. I'd think about all the people I was killing before I'd push the button, I'd have second thoughts. But not her man, gun ho all the way! Nuke the bastards! Like, I might put myself on the line and oppose military line of command. But you'd never have to worry about her, eh?

I think it says a lot about the corporate media that they'd put someone like Coulter on the cover of Time. It's no surprise, of course -- look at the welcome that Rush Limbaugh got, or the way that people like Jerry Falwell were treated very seriously. Now try to imagine Noam Chomsky on the cover of Time.

On the Hillary Rodham Clinton thing, she's a moderate right-winger. I am afraid she might have a shot at the White House, but that would not be a good thing. But at least she's not an extremist, like Coulter!